Sudan detains two Eritrean journalists

New York, December 26, 2012--Sudanese authorities have detained
without charge since Monday two Eritrean journalists, Abdalal Mahmoud Hiabu and
Haroun Adam, from the Sudan-based Eritrean
Centre for Media Services, according to local journalists, family, and news
reports.

"We are very concerned about the well-being of Abdalal Mahmoud
Hiabu and Haroun Adam," said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program
Coordinator Sherif Mansour. "We call on authorities to immediately disclose
their whereabouts, legal status, and condition."

The journalists' colleagues and family members told CPJ that the
two journalists have not been seen since being summoned Monday to Sudan's National
Intelligence Security Services for an investigation. Nassir
Mahmoud Hiabu said he received a call from his brother, Abdalal, who told him
that he was inside a police car and that his phone was about to be confiscated.
Abdalal's phone has been turned off since. Nassir has tried to inquire about
his brother's situation, but his whereabouts are unknown.

Jamal Osman Hamad, editor-in-chief of Eritrean Centre for Media
Services' website, told CPJ that both journalists, who contribute news and
opinion pieces to the site, are in Sudan seeking asylum. The Centre analyzes
Eritrean news coverage, especially news that relates to the Eritrean opposition;
translates it into Arabic; and publishes a biweekly online bulletin and a monthly
publication targeting the Eritrean diaspora in Sudan.

Eritrea is the most
censored country in the world, according to CPJ research, and dozens of Eritrean
journalists have fled into exile over the past decade, many of them to Sudan, where they struggle to
fulfill basic needs and risk harassment, detention, and deportation.

Hamad was himself arrested by the Sudanese government for three months
last year because of his writing on Eritrea. He was held incommunicado for
eight weeks, and no charges were ever filed. Hamad's detention took place less
than a week after an official visit to Sudan by Eritrean President Isaias
Afewerki in October 2011.

On October 17, 2011, over 300 Eritreans were expelled
from Sudan to their home country without their cases being referred to the
office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, according to the Arabic Network
for Human Rights Information based in Cairo, Egypt. The U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees' 2012 country profile on
Sudan confirmed that asylum seekers there are at risk of forced return.